Social hygienic determinants of the occurrence of influenza and acute respiratory viral infection

Introduction. A temporary decline in incidence and mortality caused by influenza and  acute respiratory viral infection (ARVI) during the COVID-19 pandemic did not decrease their significance for population health. Despite a well-known regulation role that belongs to social and environmental conditions in phase transformations of an epidemic process, there are scarce studies in research literature that focus on investigating complex effects produced by environmental factors on the clinical course of the analyzed infections.

The aim of this study. To identify social-and hygienic determinants of influenza and ARVI incidence.

Materials and methods. The study results were obtained by using open data published by Rosstat and departmental materials of Rospotrebnadzor over the period between 2010 and 2022. Overall, 232 indicators were used in the study; they described hygienic and epidemiological aspects, peculiar climatic conditions, financial and social parameters as well as people’s habits and healthcare infrastructure in Russian regions taken on the annual basis.

Results. The study found several key factors affecting influenza and ARVI incidence. They included the following indicators: volumes of pollutant emissions into ambient air (r=0.12 and r=0.23 respectively); proportion of workers exposed to working conditions not conforming to safe standards (r=0.13–0.29); UVB, average monthly horizontal radiation and average precipitation volumes (r=0.12–0.7); the proportion of urban population (r=0.13 and r=0.59); volumes of alcohol sales (r=0.27–0.53); gross regional product (r=0.08–0.42); the number of middle-level healthcare workers (r=0.14; r=0.36); capacity of polyclinics (r=0.41) and others.

Limitations. The study limitations are related to the analyzed dataset (selected indicators and time period).

Conclusion. The identified peculiar effects produced by these factors as well as lifestyles can be used for substantiating medical and preventive activities aimed at improving the sanitary-epidemiological situations in the country.

Compliance with ethical standards. The study did not require the conclusion of a biomedical ethics committee or other documents (the study was performed using publicly available official statistics).

Contributions:
Zaitseva N.V. — research concept and design, editing the text;
Kleyn S.V., Kiryanov D.A. — writing and editing the text;
Glukhikh M.V. — data collection and statistical analysis, writing the test.
All authors are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript and approval of the manuscript final version.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Funding. The study had no sponsorship.

Received: August 1, 2025 / Accepted: November  3, 2025 / Published: December 19, 2025

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